Last week, we learned that we had an internal leak at Stately Beat Manor, home of the staffers of the Comics Beat, the world’s greatest information sources of all things comics. One of our newest writers had secretly been operating a blog for Marvel ‘90s villain Stryfe. The antagonist had secret correspondence with the staffer that none of us were aware of previously. In order to retaliate against him, we chose one of the greatest heroes of such wonderful ‘90s titles as the New Mutants and X-Force. We knew that the staffer and Stryfe had a weekly meeting where they would discuss what comics were being read and spread out the Stately Beat Manor for general consumption — and would fill them with piles and piles of confusing artist-driven series.
In order to fight back, we gave Cable the coordinates of the meeting. Unfortunately, after doing so, we never heard from Stryfe, Cable, or The Beat staffer again. A different staffer reported that he recently saw the trio within a brand new issue of an undisclosed X-Men title but as of right now, our sources aren’t confirmed. Thankfully, before we sent Cable to the docks to do battle with Stryfe and save our Beat contributor, we asked him for one thing: his staff picks for the week of 9/16/15.
Cable’s picks:
Captain America: White #1
Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Tim Sale Publisher: Marvel
From his re-awakening in the present day to his days on the battlefield during World War II, follow CAPTAIN AMERICA as he recalls a special mission during THE BIG ONE!
It’s 1941 and the HOWLING COMMANDOS are just looking to kick back and relax….
But CAP and BUCKY are about to make their night a whole lot worse!
The EISNER AWARD-WINNING team of JEPH LOEB and TIM SALE reunite to tell a shocking story of CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY!
Extra-sized issue featuring CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE #0
Cable informed us that he never thought that Captain America: White was actually going to come out. With issue #0 shipping in 2008, who could blame him? While his own personal relationship with Steve Rogers has been murky over the past couple years, Cable cited his love for the collaborative work of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale as a major influence on his anti-hero career. We were proud to hear that he had an unexpected love of great comics work and celebrated the fact that the issue was coming out soon. Captain America: White is going to be a special issue because of two creators really honing in on their abilities to evoke something special in the medium of comics. Rarely is a comic book truly great without both creators being tuned into the specific style of story they are telling. We’re hoping that this is another case of two creators teaming up to craft something special in the space of comics.
All-New Hawkeye #5
Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Ramon Perez Colors: Ian Herring Letters: VC – Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel
A boy at odds with his big brother. A hero out of sync with his partner. Team Hawkeye, both past and present, is fractured. Things come to a head as Barney, Clint, and Kate learn what it means to carry the name Hawkeye.
“Not enough noise is being made about this series across the internet” proclaimed Cable from the rooftops of the Stately Beat Manor. He went onto pull out his copy of issue four and show off the painted artwork from Ramon Perez fueled with the curious writings of Jeff Lemire. Afterwords, Cable went onto explain how the title led to him trying to be a better surrogate parent to Hope. We encourage good behavior at The Beat, especially if it comes from comics good as All-New Hawkeye. Lemire and Perez had large shoes to fill stepping in for Matt Fraction and David Aja, but honing on the hard subjects of child abuse and the evolution of young teenagers through expressive artwork will make this a series to remember outside of the context of this comic as ‘the Hawkeye book after Fraction and Aja.’ Thanks to Cable for reminding us this week that “comics aren’t all about the big guns.” He so elegantly went on to state that “the big guns don’t hurt either though– look at my books…they are all great!”
Zach’s picks:
Island #3
Creator: Emma Ríos, Brendon Graham, Matt Sheean, Amy Clare, Malachi Ward Artist: Farel Dalrymple, Jose Domingo, Tessa Black, Kate Craig
Publisher: Image
THIRD ISSUE OF THE OVERSIZED COMICS MAGAZINE! This issue introduces MATT SHEEAN & MALACHI WARD’s sci-fi series ANCESTOR!
This oversize beauty edited by Ríos and Graham continues to impress with work from previous collaborators, friends, and more – this is how titans get made. Expect to see these gorgeous books among my recommendations monthly.
Master Keaton Vol. 4
Creator: Naoki Urasawa Writer: Hokusei Katsushika, Takashi Nagasaki
Publisher: Viz
Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, the son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, is an insurance investigator known for his successful and unorthodox methods of investigation. Educated in archaeology and a former member of the SAS, Master Keaton uses his knowledge and combat training to uncover buried secrets, thwart would-be villains, and pursue the truth…
As one of The Beat’s two (maybe three) resident manga advocates, I would be remiss in not recommending Master Keaton by manga auteur Naoki Urasawa (Pluto, 20th Century Boys) because it’s amazing. Think non-problematic Indiana Jones who actually knows how to interact and respect other cultures while cultivating an academic interest in them. Striking a wonderful balance between smart action and smart smarts, Keaton himself is kind of a capable dope who appears foolish in one instant, but actually quite clever in the long game. Humorous, wildly entertaining, yet remaining salient even so many years after it’s original Japanese release, Keaton is incredible and y’all should support it.
Alex L.’s Picks:
Prez #4
Writer: Mark Russell Artist: Ben Caldwell
Publisher: DC Comics
The American Sentry program creates a PR nightmare for President Beth Ross, while a hinky experiment in artificial intelligence produces a killer robot with a taste for musicals. Plus, an eccentric trillionaire forces senators to live with the consequences of their own laws.
I’m plugging this series for the good of us all. DC hasn’t had the best track record with keeping its DC You relaunch books on the shelves recently and Prez isn’t doing too hot in the sales charts. That’s a real shame, as Kurt Russell and Caldwell have crafted a masterpiece of empathetic humor over the course of their short run on this title. Very few comics have made such a strong impression on me in so short a time, but the team behind Prez really “gets” the current generation, making poignant satirical statements about the current political climate and economic situation in a way that encourages us to laugh at the ridiculousness of a televised political debate surrounding the hidden dramas of pork legislature or a president who’s only selling point is that she doesn’t owe anyone in Washington anything while simultaneously realizing just how close their fictional world is to our real one.
Tokyo Ghost #1
Writer: Rick Remender Artist: Sean G. Murphy
Publisher: Image
The Isles of Los Angeles 2089: Humanity is addicted to technology, a population of unemployed leisure seekers blissfully distracted from toxic contamination, who borrow, steal, and kill to buy their next digital fix. Getting a virtual buzz is the only thing left to live for. It’s the biggest industry, the only industry, the drug everyone needs, and gangsters run it all. And who do these gangsters turn to when they need their rule enforced? Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay. This duo is about to be given a job that will force them out of the familiar squalor of Los Angeles to take down the last tech-less country on Earth: The Garden Nation of Tokyo. Bestselling writer RICK REMENDER (BLACK SCIENCE, DEADLY CLASS) and superstar art team SEAN MURPHY (CHRONONAUTS, Punk Rock Jesus) and MATT HOLLINGSWORTH (WYTCHES, Hawkeye) examine our growing addiction to technology while thirsting for a nature we continue to destroy.
I’m sure that this title will sell like hotcakes no matter what I say, but I just figured that I would remind you all that Tokyo Ghost debuts tomorrow. Rick Remender is having one hell of a year, leaving Marvel comics to focus on an amazing creator owned stable that includes the fantastic post-apocolyptic action series Low and the stylistically brilliant drama series Deadly Class. Sean Murphy is an industry powerhouse, hot off his stint working with Mark Millar on the recently optioned Chrononauts. Personally, I can’t wait to see what these two rockstars come up with while working in collaboration.
